Rotary steam-engine



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

PHILO C. CURTIS, OFQUTICA, NEW YORK.

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No.' 5,190, dated July 10, 1847.

To all whom t may concern f y Be it known that I, PHILO C. CURTIS, of the city of Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Rotary Engine; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1, is a perspective view; Fig. 2, a vertical section, and Figs. 3, and 4, sectional vviews representing parts of the same in decylinder, and resting o-n suitable bearings.`

The part D, of the axle is solid, and the portion E is tubular.

a, and b, are steam pipes placed by the side of, and parallel with, the cylinder A, their inner ends opening into the hollow axle E, opposite each other, and their outer ends communicating with the ends of the cylinder by means of the apertures 0, c, closed by valves opening into the cylinder, and by the apertures z', l,not closed by valves.

J, is a tube closed at both ends, inserted into, and accurately fitting the bore of the hollow axle E, from which it projects a short distance.

p, is a partition plate dividing the chamber within the tube J into two equal parts; d, is a steam pipe communicating with the lower compartment of the tube J, and e, is an escape pipe communicating with the upper compartment of the same. Y

f, is an aperture through the tube J, into the lower compartment of the same, close to the inner end of the tube, on a line with the steam pipe d.

g, is an aperture opposite to f, into the upper compartment of the tube, on a line with the escape pipe e.

The tube J, is rmly held in place, by the clamp F, which is bolted to the bearing timber I-I. VAs thelly wheel B is revolved,

apertures f, and g, in the tube J, are brought f opposite to vthe inner ends of the pipes a, and,

.The operation of my improved rotary engine 1s as follows: Steam being admitted to the lower compartment of the tube J, theV fly wheel isturned until the inner'end of one of the pipes a, b, is brought opposite to the aperture f, when the steam will rush in,

pass through the aperture c, into thecylinf y' der A, and elevate the piston C, to the top Y reverse the position of the cylinder and carry around the fly-wheel. Each side pipe a, b, alternately becomes a steam, and an es- .of the same; the weight of the piston .will y.

cape pipe to the cylinder, bythe revolution of the fly wheel. 'The cylinder, in revolving, i

brings the inner end of the side pipe opening into `the rising end of the cylinder, op posite the elongated portion of the aperture g, and allows the steam to escape'at the 'mo-j ment the cylinder reaches a horizontal posltion; and just before the cylinder, in `re` volving, reaches averticalposition, the side f pipe, opening into the descending end of the cylinder, comes opposite the aperture f,

through which the steam enters, andagain elevates the piston to the other end of the cylinder, and thus the operation kis continued. The piston, as it is elevated, closes .I

the valve over the aperture c, and, in consequence, condenses a quant-ity of steam and air in the end of the cylinder, which prevents the piston from coming in violentcontact with the head of the saine.

Myl improved rotary engine may be composed of one, two, three, or more cylinders combined; Fig. 5, represents the mannerin which I combine two cylinders with each other, and with the hollow axle E, and solid axle D; and also the manner of connecting s descend to the lower end of the cylinder A,

per compartment of the same through the medium of the side pipes a, Zn connecting the ends of the cylinders with the hollow axle E, and alternately becoming steam and escape 15 pipes, substantially in the manner herein set forth.

PHILO C. CURTIS.

' Witnesses:

Z. C. RoBBINs, GUY C. HUMPHRms. 

